Month: March 2016

Movie Musical Challenge – Guys and Dolls

Posted March 21, 2016 by Charlotte in Movie Musical Challenge! / 4 Comments

For this Movie Musical Challenge I’ve made a list of 15 musicals that I haven’t yet seen and probably ought to have. The challenge is throughout the year and once watched I’ll put my thoughts up on the blog. Today is the turn of Guys and Dolls. The third movie for the challenge is Guys and Dolls (1955), starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. I loved the music and the stylised dancing. All the songs in this show are pretty catchy, including ‘A Bushel and a Peck’, ‘ Luck Be a Lady’ and ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat’ to name a few! And I thought that the casting was pretty perfect, Vivan Blain is perfect as Adelaide, and paired with Frank Sinatra as Nathan the duo are unstoppable. But it is Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons, for me, as Sky and Sarah who steal the show. Theirs is a relationship I actually root for, and enjoyed more than Adelaide and Nathan, I wish there had been more of Sky and Sarah. I loved and hated this film at the same time. I loved the film […]

Review: Twenty Questions for Gloria by Martyn Bedford

Posted March 15, 2016 by Charlotte in Reviews / 0 Comments

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Twenty Questions for Gloria by Martyn Bedford Published by Walker Books on February 4, 2016 Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Young Adult Pages: 304 Format: Paperback Source: Publisher Buy on Amazon Goodreads Gloria is tired of her ordinary life. She barely recognizes the free-spirited girl she used to be in the unadventurous teenager she has become. So when a mysterious boy bent on breaking the rules strolls into her classroom, Gloria is ready to fall under his spell. Uman is funny, confident and smart. He does whatever he likes and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. The only people for him are the mad ones, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn. He is everything Gloria wishes to be. He can whisk her away from the life she loathes and show her a more daring, more exciting one, in which the only limits are the boundaries […]

Review: The Last Kiss Goodbye by Tasmina Perry

Posted March 10, 2016 by Charlotte in Reviews / 3 Comments

The Last Kiss Goodbye by Tasmina Perry Published by Headline Review on September 10, 2015 Genres: Chick-lit, Contemporary, Fiction, Historical, Romance Pages: 384 Format: Paperback Source: Publisher Buy on Amazon Goodreads A spellbinding tale of love, loss and long-buried secrets from the Sunday Times bestselling author. If you loved spending A Week in Paris with Rachel Hore or taking the Last Voyage of the Valentina with Santa Montefiore, you will adore this unforgettable novel. Everyone remembers their first kiss. But what about the last? 1961. Journalist Rosamund Bailey is ready to change the world. When she meets explorer and man about town Dominic Blake, she realises she has found the love of her life. Just as happiness is in their grasp, the worst happens, and their future is snatched away. 2014. Deep in the vaults of a museum, archivist Abby Gordon stumbles upon a breathtaking find. A faded photograph of a man saying goodbye to the woman he loves. Looking for a way to escape her own heartache, Abby becomes obsessed with the story, little realising that behind the image […]

Movie Musical Challenge – High Society

Posted March 7, 2016 by Charlotte in Movie Musical Challenge! / 3 Comments

For this Movie Musical Challenge I’ve made a list of 15 musicals that I haven’t yet seen and probably ought to have. The challenge is throughout the year and once watched I’ll put my thoughts up on the blog. Today is the turn of High Society. So the second movie for the challenge is High Society (1956), starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra. I have to admit that I’m not really sure I really liked this movie. There were a few enjoyable moments – e.g. when Tracy (Grace Kelly) becomes exceedingly drunk – but I have to admit for the majority of the time I was a bit bored. One of my favourite songs was “Well, Did You Evah!” but that was probably because I was reminiscing to my childhood and listening to Robbie Williams sing it, the other stand-outs were “Little One” (a very cute song) and “True Love”. But seeing as this is a musical filled with great musicians (lets not forget Louis Armstrong!) I was disappointed by the power of the songs. Also we have a very strange love-square going on […]

Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Posted March 4, 2016 by Charlotte in Reviews / 2 Comments

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys Published by Puffin on February 4, 2016 Genres: Fiction, Historical, Young Adult Pages: 391 Format: E-Arc Source: Netgalley Buy on Amazon Goodreads War-torn Germany. Four young people. Four dark secrets. They come from different lands but each of them is hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies … and war. As thousands of refugees flock to the coast, desperate to escape the advancing Red Army, the paths of four young people converge. All are hoping to board the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom. Yet not all promises can be kept. Inspired by the worst disaster in maritime history, Ruta Sepetys, award-winning author of Between Shades of Gray, brilliantly tells a shocking, illuminating and ultimately life-affirming story from World War II. So I decided to read Salt to the Sea based on the numerous positive reviews I had read. And the fact that is based on a real event, which always makes a book interesting and I get to learn something new! However I started off not really liking this book. […]

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